Switzerland Tops Nations Cup Leaderboard at Morocco Royal Tour CSIO3*

The Switzerland Nations Cup Team at the 2017 Morocco Royal Tour. ph: Morocco Royal Tour.

The Swiss came out victorious in the CSIO3* Nations Cup event held at the Morocco Royal Tour on Friday, October 13, 2017, picking up their first team victory of the 2017 circuit.

Eight nations took to the sanded arena in Rabat, Morocco. After the dropped scores from each round were taken into consideration, Switzerland, the country with the lowest accumulated score, took home the win with eight faults.

Teammates Nadja Peter Steiner, Alain Jufer, Aurelia Loser, and Pius Schwizer walked away with the winners’ share of the €40,000 purse.

“[This was] a well-balanced team with a young rider, Aurélia Loser, who participated [in her] first Nations Cup, alongside experienced [riders] who love the Moroccan shows. [It was] a successful mix at the end,” said Swiss Chef d’Equipe Andy Kistler. “We have had a great season this year, with the bronze medal at the European [Championships] in particular, but this victory is important as it’s the first one in this season’s Nations Cup circuit”.

Schwizer produced one of only two double clears in the class aboard the ten-year-old Oldenburg gelding Balou Rubin R (Balou du Rouet x Couleur- Rubin).

“[It’s] the perfect technical conditions here in Rabat, [with] the quality and size of the arena,” said Schwizer. “It’s an amazing Nations Cup”.

The French team, consisting of Max Thirouin, Romain Lavigne, Severin Hillereau, and Julia Dallamano, finished in 2nd with an overall score of 12. Dallamano piloted Hoepala VH Daalhof, the ten-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare (Kashmir Van Schuttershof x Clinton I), to the second of two double clears in the competition.

The final podium placing went to Italian teammates Marco Viviani, Matteo Zamana, Antonio Maria Garofalo, and Emanuele Massimiliano Bianchi. The team finished with an overall score of 24 points.

The full results can be viewed here.